This is more than just bad reporting. This is treason. McCarthy should be put on trial for treason and lose his job as Speaker. Carlson should go to jail if he reports this as anything but what it really was, a Coup. I'm sick and tired of these Right Wing crazy nut bags making up lies and feeding them to the public. It's plain wrong. It's not freedom of speech. It's lying and they need to be stopped before it's too late and we have another attempted Coup because these fools rile up their base.
I agree and simply ask why others have not come to the same conclusion? The oath of office..........is it now optional? A suggestion? A guideline to follow only if convenient? No. No it is an oath. It is non-negotiable. It is our cornerstone for democracy. Let us treat it as such, and the antics of McCarthy be called what they are: Acts of treason.
I keep hearing about the identity crisis in young children and what society feels elementary schools should be doing about it. Remember this is my personal opinion and in no way is this an attempt to force my views on others, this is just my feedback on how I feel about the subject. Also, I just had a stroke and this effort has an elevated level of difficulty for me. Young children have enough to deal with on their own level, to throw in extra parameters for them to grasp at such a tender age to me is a mistake. It is of primary importance not to fill their minds with extraneous unneeded information. Classes should concentrate on the basics, math, English, history, writing skills, reading, and later history, civics. Children who have problems with identity should have those issues handled by their parents at home, at such an early age there is really no place in the school setting for any discussion centered around individuals who are having problems in this area. School books including texts should stick to the subject material at hand. I don't feel the school library should make special provisions for literary works that address gender identification. This is information that doesn't need to weigh down the thinking processes of young children. Again, if a child is having problems in this area it's something that needs to be addressed in the home setting, not at school, and if need be outside professionals can be employed to assist. Primary schools have but one goal, to teach the basics. Bulling aside, because that can't be tolerated on any level. Think of a school as a production plant, their purpose is to make good-quality cars. The people working on the line are vastly different, both ethnically and physically. The line workers not unlike the children have differences, at that age, all that is desired is the need to obtain a basic education. Issues that deal with other areas can wait until a more appropriate time when the thinking processes have reached a level of understanding where older individuals can process this new information. Keep it simple stupid.
As a school counselor, I can tell you that not all parents are understanding of gender identity, especially if they are very religious. If a student comes out to me, I cannot contact a parent because I do not know what that child is going home to and being different is not a dangerous situation. Children who have issues with gender identify are at very high risk of suicide because of the stigma attached to them. Families will shun them and then there is no one to turn to. No one is teaching anything about gender in books, so you can put that idea out of your mind, but books are available to those that are LGBTQ+. I teach social-emotional learning to our students and without that, they cannot perform to their best potential if they are having to deal with depression, anxiety, abuse at home, racism, homophobia, etc. A child will not do well academically if his social-emotional needs are not being met. Please educate yourself on this so that you are more informed.
So, what is your concern regarding that age group? I'm reading your original post and I don't understand. No one is teaching anything about gender to the students but some books are all inclusive (race, gender, etc). Students do better at school and in life when they know they have representation.
I agree and I’m sure many have the same conclusion, but there’s also so much big money influencing everything that morals and the oath of office has flown out the window. Certain Republicans, who shall remain nameless, have big money behind them and under a huge spotlight power and greed have made them forget who they’re supposed to be working for.
Prof. Reich points out that "The McCarthy-Trump-Fox complex is internally consistent" and that it connects the various elements of what we are up against. I would add that the MAGA extremists are the common element, and the real problem. Obviously, the weakest link in this triad is McCarthy. So that's where we should focus our energy: on removing and replacing McCarthy as Speaker.
How to do that? Prof. Reich again has pointed the way. In his posts of January 2 and January 4, when it was clear that McCarthy lacked the votes needed to become Speaker, he explained how a cross-party alliance could put together enough votes to elect someone else.
As we know, that didn't happen. Kevin McCarthy traded away his authority in exchange for support from the radical MAGA minority. But it still could happen. Any Representative can make a motion to "vacate the chair" and a majority vote can remove him. This would require the cross-party alliance that didn't form in January
Removing and replacing McCarthy is our best hope for breaking the connection Prof. Reich describes. It can be done. The network of ordinary citizens I represent at "Feathers of Hope" (jerryweiss.substack.com) has been actively working to help bring this about. We have a plan, a list of potential allies in the House, and a timetable for acting. Our only tools are our voices, but we can be heard.
Prof. Reich's post "My Mother Was Wrong" (Feb. 9 ) is an inspiration for us to do more than just expect that everything will turn out okay. We have to take action to see progress. I invite you to check out "Feathers of Hope" (jerryweiss.substack.com).
I fully agreed with Robert Reich, that the Democrats should have allied with a few republicans who have retained a few brain cells, and vote in a 'moderate' republican. It was a foolish gamble to allow McCarthy to get elected. Unless they all know something I don't know? They have another way of unseating McCarthy?
I've given a lot of thought to that as well, Linda. At the time it seemed to me also that doing nothing to block McCarthy was a foolish gamble. But being a politician is a delicate balancing act. To an extent usually under-appreciated, voting for a member of the opposition party for Speaker is a bold step.
On those first days of the 118th Congress, the Democratic Party had a new leadership team. And in retrospect, I think it may have been more important for their first vote to demonstrate unity and support for Hakeem Jeffries as party leader. Having established that unity and support, the possibility of some Demoicrats joining together with some Republicans to form a majority is now much more feasible.
To answer your question, there is no other way to unseat McCarthy than a (temporary) cross-party alliance. I might add, there is also no other way to raise the debt ceiliing. It's why our network at "Feathers of Hope" (jerryweiss.substack.com) is so focused on exactly that moment.
The Speaker will be at his most vulnerable, whether he stands with MAGA or betrays them. So we'll be urging the alliance that forms to raise the debt ceiling, to stay together and move to "vacate the chair".
Delayed accountability for high-level coup plotters has fostered the appearance that people can participate in a plot to overthrow America's government without legal consequence. THAT certainly could affect a decision to attempt another coup.
Craig, yes, an oath should be sacred and when one is broken, there must be consequences including being removed from office. I think a lack of courage is steering this whole enterprise. McCarthy committed treason when he gave these video documents to Carlson, a proven liar and fact-twister, particularly when he did not release them to any other, actually dependable media. Democrats and a few patriotic Republicans need to rise u p and get McCarthy out of office and put someone in office who actually cares about this nation. I am thinking Jeffries or Benny Thomas would be good choices, and would be more fair to Republicans than McCarthy is to anyone, including Republicans.
RedElisa, unfortunately, McCarthy is now the Speaker of the House and thus has access to the work of the January 6th Committee. That should not be an automatic thing, but the House is not used to quite such corruption in its Speaker. McCarthy should be removed from the office, but Republicans are just plain cowards who no longer care about this nation, its Constitution, or pretty much anything else but power and money they can accumulate and don't deserve. It is disgusting, but Democrats aren't calling him out on his and his crew's bad behavior enough and clearly aren't doing outrageous things enough to bring the pathetic media's attention to the real issue. Carlson is a traitor and so is his boss and a bunch of the other Fox Not Nearly News pundits. It is disgusting, but that entity has groomed their followers so well they can't even see truth anymore, only what Baby Tucker and Kumpany say, and that in any normal circumstance would be seen as spewing treason talk, insurgency.
I have no idea who thought up the idea of dumping Ohio's toxic dirt from the train wreck in the great lakes state of Michigan. My state is the home to 1/5 of the world's freshwater supply. To even contemplate the thought of dumping toxic waste of any type within the confines of Michigan is "Moronish." The testing sites of the early atomic bombs have been deemed unlivable and consist of desert terrain, to me it would be a better drop zone for that stuff. Michigan should be removed from any future thought of being a toxic waste dump site, and I don't care if they have the stupid thought of utilizing the empty salt mines under the city. Stupid thinking and I'll bet the idiot that came up with the idea in the first place is a Republican.
They'll probably bring it to my state, PA. We receive the daily garbage from FIVE states plus Puerto Rico ! Somebody must be making big bucks off this dirty deal.
Linda-- that's terrible to hear. Each state should be responsible For their own trash disposal, and it should be handled within the states territory, when ever possible.
The Jan 6 Committee referred McCarthy as well as Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to the House Ethics Committee for prosecution for defying a committee subpoena for their testimony. A fifth member who defied a subpoena, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, is retiring.
Maybe a petition for mandamus against DOJ will start the ball rolling.
Perry was before the DC Court of Appeals yesterday asking to block a search of his cellphone by the special counsel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
IMHO there is probable cause to charge him --- and McCarthy.
Thank you for this Daniel. I had to look up "mandamus" to be sure about the meaning, you are so right here. It is nothing short of an outrage what is happening in our Congress with 157 (I think that's it) insurrectionist legislators running our country! This is a slow moving coup to the next election. I WANT TO MOVE THE HELL OUT OF HERE!
Do you mean leave the U.S. when you say, "I WANT TO MOVE THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"? If so, please don't leave because if many of us leave, then "they" win! We have to stay and fight back, especially with our votes, to remove these crazies from Congress as well as those at local and state levels. We can't give up now. It will be a slow-moving fight, but the November election showed it's possible to claw our way back to sanity and Constitutional rule.
Daniel, I would like to see the folks you named charged, but with essentially no ethics committee in the House, I just don't see anything being done to stop their treasonous behavior.
the committee almost broke up over that issue; most wanted to pursue the legislators who were involved. Liz Cheney forbid it; she wanted only trump's head. Why? Because she'll need some of those republicans when she regains control of the R party. That is her ultimate goal.
Thank you Daniel for this valuable counsel. How and who issues the petition for mandamus? Can we do it? If there is a cost involved, can we raise the money for it?
I don't know what a petition of Mandamus is, but I like it! Scott Perry is a very bad one. I'm horrified for my state! You know that the J6 Committee wanted to go after those legislators, but Liz Cheney forbid it, right ? Many people who were assisting the committee actually quit in anger.
George, maybe the approach we need to take is to get the FCC involved and get them to break up the media conglomerates and set in place some regulations for what happens to talking heads who spew lies that actually harm the people of this nation. No corporation should be able to own stations all over the country and the owners of the media should be held accountable for the bad behavior of their entity. After all, corporations are declared persons by our "Supreme" Court. The owners, then are the ones that should be tried and imprisoned for promoting treason.
The Media ...at the very least the Main Stream Media ... has completely failed to do its job. It’s probably sufficiently intelligent and educated to know that it’s lying and/or at the very least - refusing to tell the truth. But the ad revenues are soaring and the Devil’s bargain is holding for now.
But the MSM should perhaps remember what happens to those who make a bargain with the Devil? To the best of my knowledge, and supported virtually 100% in both history and literature - IT DOESN’T END WELL for one of the parties. It’s the Devil who ALWAYS WINDS, except when the protagonist who opposes him is young, innocent, and Good. Call me a cynic, but I’m not seeing ANY of that on the Right Hand Side of the Aisle?
Me either, are there no republicans out there in the republican majority that is honest and true to the oaths of office? If there are why doesn’t the media cover them as well as the bogus caucus?
Not helpless, James, hopeless. It is their job to enforce the Constitution and all written law. Not to be concerned with how much donation money it will cost them
A problem is that the criminal justice system has been tweaked for decades to favor those who can afford to buy it with an army of highly paid lawyers.
Gloria-- I was a civil trial lawyer, not criminal. But the same thing is true on the civil side. I worked in the largest firms, in middle-sized firms, and on my own. What you allude to is one of the main reasons I got out of the practice after over 4 decades: No matter how good my prospective client's case was, if he/she was small and litigating against a large opponent, I was forced by my own sense of integrity to advise the prospective client that they probably could not win in court or in arbitration. The Rules of Procedure are designed to drag things out until the smaller party no longer has the wherewithal (financial and otherwise) to continue with the case; the arbitration system is designed to incentivize arbitrators to go with the big guy because they represent future business (because they litigate regularly) whereas the smaller party is not likely to come back; judges, who come primarily from prosecutors' offices or the very large law firms, are biased in far too many cases and, as a practical matter, there is no way to sanction or remove such judges; etc. etc. Hard to keep a business going when you are telling prospective clients to not use you.
As a lawyer for near half a century, I’m loving this comment string. Justice still has a chance , but it is getting harder.
Things are getting worse-not better because corporations are taking over the judiciary. Federal district judges, for instance, know that if they significantly harm corporate interests, they can say good bye to any advancement to a higher court.
State courts are increasing feeling the influence of lawmakers, who are basically stooges for corporate interests. In my own state of Montana, for instance, there are several bills moving through a corporate controlled legislature to undermine the independence of our judiciary, and in every election cycle, the same forces expend millions of dollars on the judicial campaigns of lawyers and judges they know will vote in favor of their interests. It is just a matter of time until they gain complete control, as they have in many sister states.
On an anecdotal level, I’ve been fighting a lonely battle for s group of Montanans for nearly a decade and a half. The audacious sharp practices of the corporate lawyers are on full display and have been largely successful. I’m still fighting (without pay). It ain’t pretty but what are you going to do?
It's a really sad state of affairs but I know what you mean. With no judiciary and a voting public willing to believe any pablum fed to them, we stand a strong chance of losing out democracy to a dictatorship without a shot being fired in our defense - and, NO, I'm not advocating for civil war. I'm fighting a battle in California on behalf of my self and the other residents of an Independent Senior Living residential Facility. I can't even find an attorney or government agency to listen, let alone help us. We've fallen through a very wide crack, we're not wealthy, we're able to feed ourselves (but most of the others can't cook) we can take our own medicine and dress ourselves so we don't qualify with assisted living, or skilled nursing facilities either. I can't imagine how bad it must be for licensed attorneys fighting a battle they know they can't win.
Erik and Fay -- I acknowledge the two of you for continuing to fight. I fought for a long time (despite my phone being bugged, my children being stalked, angry ranchers shooting at my clients), but even though I had led a very healthy life, my body started collapsing (heart attacks, heart failure, cancer, etc.), and it was time to get out. As a result, I'm still alive (though I was told I wouldn't be), and even though I now make a tiny fraction of what I made as a practicing lawyer, I am much happier and my wife of 38 years is still with me. Food for thought.
Good for you,. Steve. Although I dearly love the law, especially Constitutional law, after passing the LSAT and being accepted at Law School, I backed out, because I was making more money as a teacher than I would after four years of law school, at considerable expense, starting out as a Constitutional lawyer. After teaching I worked in Social Services for several years, then as consulting analyst and subject matter expert traveling the east coast and mid west. Instead of being smart like you, Steve I didn't retire until I was 88 - had a great time though (:-)
Thanks Steve. Judges can be impeached. How do we start an impeachment process? Does it have to begin with the Legislature? We do have a Constitution. We just need to enforce it. Too many of us, including me, have signed arbitration agreements thinking, Oh, I'll never have need to use it. Then when we do get there, we realize we've lost before we even started.
That must be changed. It's a symptom of what's wrong with this corporatocracy. Corruption has overwhelmed our nation. Equal rights & opportunity are now nothing more than a long forgotten dream.
Steve, I too, was a trial lawyer but in FL. I dealt with the inequalities by drinking. I quit drinking in 1985 and soon thereafter, I quit the law. A friend of mine worked for Holland and Knight, one of the biggest law firms in the country back then. He told me that their policy was to spend as much as it took to fight back, regardless of the validity of the claim. OR, as the saying goes: "Money Talks."
In one of my first experiences as a young lawyer at a big firm, the firm took on a big case (for Motorola or Teledyne, I think), and I was called into the initial meeting with 20 other lawyers and paralegals. During the next 2 hours, there was zero discussion of the law or the facts because apparently the top dogs knew our client was in the wrong. So instead the entire discussion was about non-legal things the firm could do to break the backs (financially, emotionally, spiritually) of the plaintiffs and their lawyers. Birthday dates, anniversaries, whether counsel were Jewish (screw up Hanukkah) or not (Christmas), what commuting routes the lawyers took, what schools their children went to, where the families vacationed, who was in their extended families, etc. I could only imagine how that information would be used.
That was the first indication I had that this new world was alien to me and that the rules here were very different from those I had been taught, in law school and elsewhere.
But the breaking point for me came many years later, as a small firm and solo lawyer, when I experienced many small clients going after big guys who could never even get the chance to win or lose since they had had to quit after being ground down by those big firm tactics, overwhelming litigation money on the other side, drawn out use of the rules of procedure, and judges who looked the other way from abuses of the system. Those clients often took their frustration out on me because there was no one else in the system to direct it to.
There are many fine, high integrity, and compassionate lawyers out there. But it is the big names that have built the system and run it . . . they are the ones who determine the rules of procedure; they are the ones playing golf with the judges; and they are the ones who have changed the system from one of truth and justice to one of money and power.
Erik, Steve, Bob Miller. I agree that the system is stacked and is entirely too costly.
But the little guy has a chance because of contingency fees and fee shifting statutes.
I am in no position to lecture anybody, but my ol' pappy was literally a country lawyer and taught us "alchemy" -- we learned to turn "shit" into money. In order to prevail we had to be "better" than the opposition.
Companies like railroads are "target" defendants. They get sued a lot and know that they have exposure for more if cases against them become precedent. I'm sure a general practitioner from East Palestine has a small chance to figure out the possibilities. But I heard stuff l where the companies were mostly defended by big law DC or NY law firms nationally, yet some sole practitioners were able to navigate.
Adele, It should not be so difficult, but as long as rich corporations can determine what goes on air, we will not be able to do much to stop this. They keep accumulating money they can use to warp our media and buy candidates. That really must stop, but how do we do it?
Daniel H Laemmerhirt : Tucker Carlson has shows in Russia. He works for Putin. This is an outrage. He misinforms and stirs up trouble: violence and insurrection! He is an enemy of America and Democracy.
Laurie, you are right about Carlson. He is for himself and his puppet master who also is fond of Putin and any other dictator. Murdoch likes the idea of being able to make everyone bow to his will as the dictators like Putin, Xi, and Orban do. He hints that he just HAD to lie to keep his job, but in reality, he reveled in it, proving what a "good" actor he is. Those who watch his program really don't listen to him because if they did, they would hear the lying and just the way he says things with a sneer, showing just how much contempt he has for his followers. It's remarkable, but really disturbing!
Yeah, Chuck ; I guess a propaganda puppet of Putin's is just fine and dandy with you huh? I think most users/ members of this forum are not in sync with Nazis and Seditionists. We don't much like lies, crime and misinformation either, nor the violence and threats that go with it.
Chuck, what nonsense. Carlson et al whine to their followers and are pretty good at shaping their followers more than singing the tune their followers like. They work very hard to create the "liking" the followers have. If they crafted the truth as well as they craft their lies, their followers would appreciate that too. And, the nonsense of "everyone does it" just does not hold up here. It works for the Carlson and Fox Not Nearly News handlers, but it simply isn't true, no matter how much you want it to be.
Chuck Campbell what kind of an agenda do you propose? And what good is the other, MAGA, Russian side? We don't like their brand. Because it sucks our blood. They exploit workers, people like Putin. They take away freedoms. Your ideas are trash talk, and you don't really care. Go disrupt somewhere else. Friends of Putin are FOPs .
One cannot edit posts? I thought you could! Anyway, I forgot to add "[sic]" for my playful spelling changes. Farron Cousins accidentally called Tucker "Cucker" a few months back and I thought it was appropriate.
Apparently you can edit if you use the browser but not the app. I've never used the app and chrome is my browser so mostly I've been able to edit. But not always. Still trying to figure that last bit out.
Close to “Nailed It.” The pushback against the Right Wing Whack Jobs & Treasonous Liars needs to be Overwhelmingly LOUD, UNITED & URGENT. Fox has been given a free pass and been allowed to LIE consistently when many of its pundits KNEW that they were lying, but that lying was WHO Fox IS, and lying was what brought in the advertising, paid their salaries, and supported their celebrity status.
Tucker Carlson is not an Intellectual Giant, but neither is he a Total Idiot. He knows EXACTLY what he’s doing, and he knows EXACTLY how dangerous it is to the future of any viable Democracy in this country. HE DOESN’T CARE. His celebrity status and ability to generate advertising dollars that translate into his exorbitant salary are all that matter. In many ways he’s worse than some of the Right Wing Whack Jobs chanting about their freedoms while doing their part to destroy the very government that bestows and protects those freedoms. Under many dictators throughout history whom many of us can name - one bad decision on what to say publicly would have been a death sentence - no trial, no jury, just a couple of guys with automatic weapons. Tucker is either stupid enough, malicious enough, and/or feckless enough to try to destroy the very environment that has brought him the fame and fortune in which he so clearly revels. He the Worst of the Worst - intelligent enough to know what he’s doing, and evil enough to do it anyways.
Susan, I am concerned that the whining and lying that Carlson et al are doing bring in advertisers. Maybe we need to start asking why those advertisers are OK with supporting lying and even treasonous talk. Maybe we need to start looking that those corporations and what they are doing on their own to undermine our democracy. They may be the very ones who are not paying their fair share of taxes, lobbying to stop important regulation of railroads and who fight unions, etc. It would be worth checking them out. What do you think?
The first part is much easier said than done. As has been pointed out on this forum, a handful of corporations now own a huge percentage of retail brands. For instance, Nestlé owns Purina, Alpo, Perrier, Stouffer's, Haagen-Dazs, Carnation, DiGiorno, and a whole roster of other products. You'd have to go through every item.on your shopping list, track down its parent company, and make sure it isn't a "bad" corporation. And what if your usual/local stores don't stock items that aren't from bad companies?
It's one thing to boycott your local pizzeria because the owner puts a t***p sign out front, but on a national scale....pretty impractical, if not impossible.
Denise Donaldson ; You have a good point that I have been aware of, and frustrated about for years . I joined the local co-op. They support local farmers and have alternatives to Nestle. It may not be perfect, but I think it is much better than going to the big box stores for basic food items. It isn't always practical to make things from scratch ; but there are some good, honest brands.
I think he is supported by global biz that would like less regs, taxes and the ability to seal themselves on the winners take all side. He is all for that and willing to be an eager beaver.
We need to pull the plug and reinvest in our country; RX now made in China is a national security risk as is many other risks.
Ramona, you are so right, but alas, Biden appointed an ineffectual Attorney General who just can't seem to get anyone even indicted who is at the top of the January 6th food chain. I get it that he claims to be concerned about looking political, but the whole coup attempt is political from beginning to end. A political party, Republican, tried to keep its ignorant evil Trump as president when he clearly lost and by over 7 million votes. The American people clearly didn't want him to remain in office. Most Americans didn't want him the first time, but our electoral college favors white uninformed voters. If Garland does not act say by the middle of April, I think nothing will actually happen to hold the real traitors accountable. That is what I expect because all the political work-arounds with special counsels is just a distraction to help all of us get more and more frustrated with the nothing being done to stop the insanity and the 2024 election drawing nearer. I get it that Trump and Kump are really good at covering things up, but our Department of Justice is supposed to be really good at uncovering it, aren't they?
Not just as Speaker, he needs to be jailed and lose his place a a Representative in Congress. As a long time Californian I am ashamed of him and the voters who put him here.
Given the serious breaches that Fox/Murdoch continually engage ion, I don't understand why this agency has no regulatory authority here https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/what-we-do
I think they do have regulatory authority. There was a "Fairness Act" which has either been rescinded or ignored. It seems the FCC sees their only duty as administering licensing and collecting fees. From what I read on line they are fully funded by the fees. Maybe they don't want to endanger their incomes.
Not a 'coup attempt'. Just protected political 'speech' by an FBI infiltrated group of aged out Boomers. I'm an independent, veteran, and attorney, and there isn't much more inexplicable in American politics today than allegedly intelligent Americans believing that 1/6 was a serious attempt at insurrection, but it remains a narrative that a substantial minority of Americans still believe. Power of the legacy media I suppose.
OMG Tim, and you're a veteran and a lawyer? What are you thinking? Just a little free speech or whatever you have been telling yourself January 6th was! It is sad that people who have served this nation can't see what is going on. I know men are privileged to think all kinds of strange things but free speech, no matter how one interprets it is not what happened January 6th. trump orchestrated his plan to stay in power while his handlers did the dirty work, keeping him mostly above the fray. Just truly sad you have chosen to be blinded by ult-right propaganda and just plain misinformation.
Oh, my God! You are so steeped in all the conspiracy theories. You live in a fantasy world that has nothing to do with reality. Your values have turned upside down!
A Veteran and you call an attack on our Capitol Free Speech? What Constitution did you swear to uphold? I swore to uphold to protect the United States of America and we were attacked by a group of Seditionists on that day. You are a disgrace to the uniform that you wore. Officers died that day! Shame on you! January 6 Trump tried to overturn a legitimate election and riled up his base to take Control of the Capitol. They wantedd to hang Pence and Pelosi. That's not free speech. You're a fool.
I suppose you call yourself a Patriot. Some American you are. I'm glad I didn't have to serve with dishonorable men like you. You're a disgrace to the uniform.
Institutions that were in charge of security were run by recent Trump appointees placed there for the purpose of making sure there wasn't enough security around the Capitol that day. Officials ignored pleas for more security.
And you are doing your best to more than make up any service for this country you might have given by promulgating all these lies & conspiracy theories & sowing discord.
Anybody with the ability to observe, properly process the information they receive, & come to a rational conclusion could see long before the 2020 election that Trump was planning to retain power regardless of election results, & everything he did was in preparation to stay in power, by violent means if he couldn't do it legally & peacefully. I predicted this in 2018.
You choose to blindly accept wild baseless conspiracy theories instead of your own eyes. I can't help you if you refuse to think & reason.
Well in my opinion this started with Newt Gingrich making Congress a casino & Reagan wS a big business creation. The DNC continues to struggle not wanting to threaten the biz donor base but also therefore losing the for the people position. Your complaint makes one side totally responsible and that is a reach w/ 24/7 fox messages.
Mike Dewine, the governor of Ohio, needs to call out Trump for the lies he told during his visit on 2/22/23 to the people of East Palestine. If the governor has any decency he should make it public that Trump has been disingenuous.
DeWine may be a decent man but he is spineless in the face of his own party. As a Republican during the height of the Covid outbreak he showed this in not fully backing his own chosen head of the Ohio Department of Health, Amy Acton. He lifted Covid restrictions too soon against her recommendations and did little to publicly support her when she was threatened by Covid deniers.
The residents of East Palestine overwhelmingly supported Trump. Trump got rid of the rule regarding breaks on trains - the rule that prevented fires. So, in reality, they did this to themselves. Could NS have spent the money to make the brakes safer? In a perfect world, yes. But corporate greed is so totally out of control, corporations have to be forced to do the right thing. The Right Wing MAGAts (pronounced maggots), want to 'burn it all down'. But they are too uninformed to understand what that means. I would like to say let what happens happen, except I don't want to live in the ruins they are working for. But it would serve them right. I am sick to death of their anti-everything.
Hate the sin but love the sinner? It's ironic that most MAGAts have been voting against their own economic and health interests. Maybe this will bring them an epiphany, a moment of rapture with reality.
IMHO this can be an object lesson for MAGAts.
BTW, my home town is about 20 miles from East Palestine. My experience is that they may need trial lawyers to survive. This stuff may be latent. As I said yesterday, the region has a high rate of respiratory diseases, may be "hot" for cancer and other diseases.
Sarah, I know there should be real consequences for voting for fools who care nothing for the people, but in reality, Republicans and their corporate sponsors have worked very hard to keep their followers ignorant and willing to cling to anything that claims Trump was a good leader. They honestly often do not know better because they have constructed a bubble for themselves and only check in with "news" reports that make them feel comfortable and "loved." They have picked the wrong party to attend, but they are so far gone, they will ignore their own perceptions and go along with Carlson and his ilk while blaming Democrats for their suffering. It has been well-orchestrated by rich corporate owners who have been given tax breaks that have allowed their money to balloon and their dysinformation to spread like a virus, infecting scared white working-class folks who choose to have no clue.
Ohio is more of a purple state now, but it used to be blue. The overwhelming Dem majority in the northern part of the state is outweighed by the combined populations of Columbus and Cincinnati, which vote GOP. Here in Cleveland, Republican candidates rarely ever stand a ghost of a chance of being elected, and we're proud of Senator Sherrod Brown, but we watch in sadness as the biggest part of the state goes red.
"Norfolk Southern’s flawed response released more than twice the toxics released in the initial derailment, creating a million-pound chemical burn pit that would burn and discharge thick toxic smoke for days causing widespread anxiety, panic, and fear of dire health consequences."
and those would be “predictable health consequences.” The science is pretty clear on the dangers of exactly what this derailment spewed into the land, water and air. East Palestine will be “unsafe in which to live” for at least 5 years ... and maybe more like a decade. The “range” will depend somewhat on the initial response, but I suspect that most of the damage has already been done, and now is essentially irreversible?
CherylP, you are right about the potential health hazards in the future in Palestine OH and the area around. But, Most people won't care because these are not rich powerful people, so, it is not clear how much help the community will get, particularly if a Republican administration takes over in 2025.
Joanne, alas, DeWine, just another Republican jerk who looks like a caring human being, but will sacrifice everything for power and money. He did not call for federal help right after the derailment a couple of weeks ago and allowed people to claim the federal officials weren't actually on the scene from nearly the beginning to try to help. Yep, a jerk!
You're so right, Joanne. DeWine ended up being a total coward during the pandemic. I don't give him credit for being a decent person in the first place, but absolutely, he's utterly spineless in the face of his party's mandates. Even if those mandates hurt his constituents.
Fox Corporation exploited that (preventable) tragedy as well. They sought to stoke racial resentment for profit by falsely accusing the Biden administration of ignoring the residents of East Palestine because they are white.
When the reality is Trump administration m/R's passed railroad deregulation. Biden and Sen D's should submit a bill addressing this and adding sensible needed regulation reforms (better brakes) TODAY. Call the fake R bluff.
With a Governor who refuses to ask for a Federal Disaster Declaration, little hope for doing the right thing. As far as I can garner from what I can put together from the news, no one should be living in that location anymore and the water needs to be totally cleaned up. That town should be a Superfund Site paid for by the RR. CEO of Norfolk Southern - jail.
The governor finally accepted federal funds, and the EPA ordered the offending corporation to pay for all the damages done. The water, except for possibly ground water, has flushed through and diluted the toxins, but the soil is a whole other matter. Large amounts need to be removed, and it will become someone else's problem- somewhere that doesn't believe that pollution is harmful and will take money for holding the toxins. As a former metallurgist who before we got "offshored," analyzed wheels and track sections to determine mode of failure for info in lawsuits, the information on overheating prior to the catastrophe hints that the company may be in for more.
Just today it came out that the water testing in the area of the event was incomplete, that testing did not include all of the toxic chemicals involved. Norfolk Southern arranged for the testing by a contractor.
Oh I could not agree more but after the the last fifty years curtailing the railroads as well as other mega huge corporations has become a joke to the right wing congress .
Oh Keith, you are so right about the OH governor calling out Trump for his lying, but he will not do that. He knows Trump has supporters in OH and he will lose if he says any kind of truth about Baby Donnie. I am learning it is the way of Republicans. They just can't manage the truth while they claim to be so patriotic and so caring about the American people whom they resent and only use for their own purposes of gaining power and money.
DeWine has no decency; he is so far up Right Wing GOPs! He’s totally aligned with them and dare not disrespect T. The state of Ohio has turned deep red thanks to gerrymandering and in flow of dark money 😡
The rot in the Ohio statehouse runs deep. During DeWine's first term, the head of the House, Householder, was in an illegal deal with First Energy (our electric company.) Huge kickback scheme as I understand it in return for less regulation. Householder is being prosecuted.
It's never been clear if, or how deep, DeWine was involved. I can't believe he knew nothing about it. He did return the money First Energy contributed to his campaign and managed to be re-elected to a second term.
Yep. Householder scored millions, the scum. And the nuclear power plant in Toledo that First Energy was trying to keep open by bribing him had been shuttered on more than one occasion as being unsafe. Realistically, it has reached the end of its life, and, without untold millions in repairs, will never be safe again. But First Energy made a good buy, and the powers that be in Ohio have still not shut down the plant.
And yes, I personally believe DeWine was in on it, neck deep.
If Professor Reich didn't stitch it all together neatly with that second to last paragraph, no one ever will:
"The McCarthy-Trump-Fox-complex is internally consistent — connecting authoritarianism, rightwing Republican hackery, GOP political fundraising, Trump-boosting ratings outrage, and greed. It’s a vicious cycle designed to sow anger and distrust while advancing the power and wealth of McCarthy, Greene, Trump, Carlson, and Fox News."
This should go up on billboards all over the country. These lowlife idiots are destroying this nation!
It seems like we are back in the Wild West, anything goes and you get away with it. With no consequences to their actions, these lowlifes will continue on their merry way like they have been doing. Enough already!! It’s totally absurd what’s going on in this country!
This continuing Fascist coup was predictable years ago when SCOTUS shifted the balance of power away from the People and to the super rich and powerful, and their corporations, with rulings such as Citizens United. HJR48 will shift the power balance back towards We the People, and democracy. But our Constitution will not amend itself. Help out at movetoamend.org and grow the democracy movement now, before it’s too late!
I am in sympathy with your argument, but I worry that those same super rich individuals and corporations will pre-empt the process of amendment. It's more vulnerable than we might suppose.
No worries. Let’s keep pushing forward. Please check out AB83 at moneyoutvotersin.org We can win this, and it’s a stepping stone to kicking corporations out of our politics and government with HJR54 (Jayapal)!
There is no 2d coup attempt, for the simple reason that the first coup never ended. Trump and the MAGA Party -- there is no GOP any longer -- are now playing out the second act of the coup, leading to 2024/the third act. Only on Jan 20, 2025, will we know how this story ends.
Unfortunately your correct! If not too late already. Read the article by Steve Schmidt, he wrote about Jimmy Carter. Maybe he was the last president that talked the talk, and walked the walk! Sad that the office fell victim to the likes of the Reagans, Bushes and the clown!
How is it even legal for McCarthy to turn the tapes over to anyone? It seems it would be a matter of national security and be locked down. If someone like TC can have them whats to stop any other nutter that requested them to get them? A precedence has been set. Will he sell them to Putin? Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get worse...
I,too, am wondering how it is that these tapes can be made available to one person (and his team of “experts”) given the significance of the tapes as an historical record and as a complete look into the House where security of its members is now an exposed map to open the possibility of further attempts to intimidate or actually harm members of the Congress. Is there no way to stop this handing over of materials to a “nut?”
Remember, though, that all of this is built on the MAGA voter base. The 15 rounds of voting for Speaker showed us just how weak McCarthy and the Republican party are, and how they have to pander to the crazies. What the Dominion court case ultimately revealed by releasing the Fox News emails is that those same belligerently ignorant, conspiracy-addled voters call the tunes the Fox News piper plays. The Republican party and Fox have spent decades cultivating the deplorables, and now they are captive to them. Fox News is deathly afraid of being abandoned by its crazy viewers. The Republican leadership is deathly afraid of Trump and his deplorable mob. The deplorables demand to be fed all manner of stupid lies, and will turn to whichever politicians and media outlets that meet their demands.
Hopefully Jack Smith and DOJ take the same point of view as your article expoused that the radical insurrectionists are still in an ongoing struggle to further Muddy the waters 💧 of their J6 complicity by further engaging in seditious activities with the help of their favorite propaganda network and spokesman. As long as we have writers like you and Heather and others holding the insurrectionists feet to the fire 🔥, America 🇺🇸 has a better chance of knowing how the GOP is trying to fake it til they make it! All of America 🇺🇸 just have to make sure they don't, especially in 2024.
It's been noted, I think on MSNBC, that the tapes will show where surveillance cameras are located. This will make it easier for seditionists to invade the Capitol in the future.
Europe was elated by the president's speeches and appearence in Kiev and Poland. But now I feel ashamed by this history: lousy politics of village level to bring a moron like Trump to a new candidacy for president. It lowers the perceived level of your politics very much. I used to think that the U.S. must elect the president they like, whether a fragile old democrat, or a narcissist moron.
But the problem in the word has grown. We need a strong America. A second term of Trump would be a disaster for the world and a break up for the U.S.
It’s not a “second” coup. It is the same coup - slow-rolling but never stopping, like a mudslide gaining speed as it moves down the hill. The only way to divert it is to shut down the right wing media and that won’t happen.
Remember Leiningen Versus the Ants? Is that still required reading in high school? The short story by Carl Stephenson? If we survive these vicious, amoral and immoral, poisonous, fascist, right-wing red ants we will be eaten to the bone after having fallen through a ring of fire.
Slight correction; Carlson's goal is ONLY to make lot of money for himself; I doubt he cares how. He'd do the same for Stalin or Hitler if it made him money.
This is more than just bad reporting. This is treason. McCarthy should be put on trial for treason and lose his job as Speaker. Carlson should go to jail if he reports this as anything but what it really was, a Coup. I'm sick and tired of these Right Wing crazy nut bags making up lies and feeding them to the public. It's plain wrong. It's not freedom of speech. It's lying and they need to be stopped before it's too late and we have another attempted Coup because these fools rile up their base.
I agree and simply ask why others have not come to the same conclusion? The oath of office..........is it now optional? A suggestion? A guideline to follow only if convenient? No. No it is an oath. It is non-negotiable. It is our cornerstone for democracy. Let us treat it as such, and the antics of McCarthy be called what they are: Acts of treason.
I concur.
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The 3-Rs
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
10:31 AM (0 minutes ago)
to
I keep hearing about the identity crisis in young children and what society feels elementary schools should be doing about it. Remember this is my personal opinion and in no way is this an attempt to force my views on others, this is just my feedback on how I feel about the subject. Also, I just had a stroke and this effort has an elevated level of difficulty for me. Young children have enough to deal with on their own level, to throw in extra parameters for them to grasp at such a tender age to me is a mistake. It is of primary importance not to fill their minds with extraneous unneeded information. Classes should concentrate on the basics, math, English, history, writing skills, reading, and later history, civics. Children who have problems with identity should have those issues handled by their parents at home, at such an early age there is really no place in the school setting for any discussion centered around individuals who are having problems in this area. School books including texts should stick to the subject material at hand. I don't feel the school library should make special provisions for literary works that address gender identification. This is information that doesn't need to weigh down the thinking processes of young children. Again, if a child is having problems in this area it's something that needs to be addressed in the home setting, not at school, and if need be outside professionals can be employed to assist. Primary schools have but one goal, to teach the basics. Bulling aside, because that can't be tolerated on any level. Think of a school as a production plant, their purpose is to make good-quality cars. The people working on the line are vastly different, both ethnically and physically. The line workers not unlike the children have differences, at that age, all that is desired is the need to obtain a basic education. Issues that deal with other areas can wait until a more appropriate time when the thinking processes have reached a level of understanding where older individuals can process this new information. Keep it simple stupid.
As a school counselor, I can tell you that not all parents are understanding of gender identity, especially if they are very religious. If a student comes out to me, I cannot contact a parent because I do not know what that child is going home to and being different is not a dangerous situation. Children who have issues with gender identify are at very high risk of suicide because of the stigma attached to them. Families will shun them and then there is no one to turn to. No one is teaching anything about gender in books, so you can put that idea out of your mind, but books are available to those that are LGBTQ+. I teach social-emotional learning to our students and without that, they cannot perform to their best potential if they are having to deal with depression, anxiety, abuse at home, racism, homophobia, etc. A child will not do well academically if his social-emotional needs are not being met. Please educate yourself on this so that you are more informed.
Dorothy--Understand and agree, I'm referring to the age group under 10 years of age.
So, what is your concern regarding that age group? I'm reading your original post and I don't understand. No one is teaching anything about gender to the students but some books are all inclusive (race, gender, etc). Students do better at school and in life when they know they have representation.
I agree and I’m sure many have the same conclusion, but there’s also so much big money influencing everything that morals and the oath of office has flown out the window. Certain Republicans, who shall remain nameless, have big money behind them and under a huge spotlight power and greed have made them forget who they’re supposed to be working for.
Prof. Reich points out that "The McCarthy-Trump-Fox complex is internally consistent" and that it connects the various elements of what we are up against. I would add that the MAGA extremists are the common element, and the real problem. Obviously, the weakest link in this triad is McCarthy. So that's where we should focus our energy: on removing and replacing McCarthy as Speaker.
How to do that? Prof. Reich again has pointed the way. In his posts of January 2 and January 4, when it was clear that McCarthy lacked the votes needed to become Speaker, he explained how a cross-party alliance could put together enough votes to elect someone else.
As we know, that didn't happen. Kevin McCarthy traded away his authority in exchange for support from the radical MAGA minority. But it still could happen. Any Representative can make a motion to "vacate the chair" and a majority vote can remove him. This would require the cross-party alliance that didn't form in January
Removing and replacing McCarthy is our best hope for breaking the connection Prof. Reich describes. It can be done. The network of ordinary citizens I represent at "Feathers of Hope" (jerryweiss.substack.com) has been actively working to help bring this about. We have a plan, a list of potential allies in the House, and a timetable for acting. Our only tools are our voices, but we can be heard.
Prof. Reich's post "My Mother Was Wrong" (Feb. 9 ) is an inspiration for us to do more than just expect that everything will turn out okay. We have to take action to see progress. I invite you to check out "Feathers of Hope" (jerryweiss.substack.com).
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I fully agreed with Robert Reich, that the Democrats should have allied with a few republicans who have retained a few brain cells, and vote in a 'moderate' republican. It was a foolish gamble to allow McCarthy to get elected. Unless they all know something I don't know? They have another way of unseating McCarthy?
I've given a lot of thought to that as well, Linda. At the time it seemed to me also that doing nothing to block McCarthy was a foolish gamble. But being a politician is a delicate balancing act. To an extent usually under-appreciated, voting for a member of the opposition party for Speaker is a bold step.
On those first days of the 118th Congress, the Democratic Party had a new leadership team. And in retrospect, I think it may have been more important for their first vote to demonstrate unity and support for Hakeem Jeffries as party leader. Having established that unity and support, the possibility of some Demoicrats joining together with some Republicans to form a majority is now much more feasible.
To answer your question, there is no other way to unseat McCarthy than a (temporary) cross-party alliance. I might add, there is also no other way to raise the debt ceiliing. It's why our network at "Feathers of Hope" (jerryweiss.substack.com) is so focused on exactly that moment.
The Speaker will be at his most vulnerable, whether he stands with MAGA or betrays them. So we'll be urging the alliance that forms to raise the debt ceiling, to stay together and move to "vacate the chair".
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Scared? "Certain Republicans" should NOT "remain nameless". That is the whole point. McConnell, McCarthy, Jordan, Ryan, MTG, Bobert, head my list.
Delayed accountability for high-level coup plotters has fostered the appearance that people can participate in a plot to overthrow America's government without legal consequence. THAT certainly could affect a decision to attempt another coup.
Craig, yes, an oath should be sacred and when one is broken, there must be consequences including being removed from office. I think a lack of courage is steering this whole enterprise. McCarthy committed treason when he gave these video documents to Carlson, a proven liar and fact-twister, particularly when he did not release them to any other, actually dependable media. Democrats and a few patriotic Republicans need to rise u p and get McCarthy out of office and put someone in office who actually cares about this nation. I am thinking Jeffries or Benny Thomas would be good choices, and would be more fair to Republicans than McCarthy is to anyone, including Republicans.
Someone please enlighten me,how did this McCarthy character obtain access to this footage?
RedElisa, unfortunately, McCarthy is now the Speaker of the House and thus has access to the work of the January 6th Committee. That should not be an automatic thing, but the House is not used to quite such corruption in its Speaker. McCarthy should be removed from the office, but Republicans are just plain cowards who no longer care about this nation, its Constitution, or pretty much anything else but power and money they can accumulate and don't deserve. It is disgusting, but Democrats aren't calling him out on his and his crew's bad behavior enough and clearly aren't doing outrageous things enough to bring the pathetic media's attention to the real issue. Carlson is a traitor and so is his boss and a bunch of the other Fox Not Nearly News pundits. It is disgusting, but that entity has groomed their followers so well they can't even see truth anymore, only what Baby Tucker and Kumpany say, and that in any normal circumstance would be seen as spewing treason talk, insurgency.
Ruth,thank you so much for your response,we're on the same page there.
Dirty dirt.
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
1:34 PM (0 minutes ago)
I have no idea who thought up the idea of dumping Ohio's toxic dirt from the train wreck in the great lakes state of Michigan. My state is the home to 1/5 of the world's freshwater supply. To even contemplate the thought of dumping toxic waste of any type within the confines of Michigan is "Moronish." The testing sites of the early atomic bombs have been deemed unlivable and consist of desert terrain, to me it would be a better drop zone for that stuff. Michigan should be removed from any future thought of being a toxic waste dump site, and I don't care if they have the stupid thought of utilizing the empty salt mines under the city. Stupid thinking and I'll bet the idiot that came up with the idea in the first place is a Republican.
They'll probably bring it to my state, PA. We receive the daily garbage from FIVE states plus Puerto Rico ! Somebody must be making big bucks off this dirty deal.
Linda-- that's terrible to hear. Each state should be responsible For their own trash disposal, and it should be handled within the states territory, when ever possible.
I know in some cases states are paid to accept another's trash. I think that is where the $ component comes in.
Deb- Money talks.
it certainly seems that our government is helpless in the face of these attacks, especially with a completely feckless media response.
The Jan 6 Committee referred McCarthy as well as Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to the House Ethics Committee for prosecution for defying a committee subpoena for their testimony. A fifth member who defied a subpoena, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, is retiring.
Maybe a petition for mandamus against DOJ will start the ball rolling.
Perry was before the DC Court of Appeals yesterday asking to block a search of his cellphone by the special counsel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
IMHO there is probable cause to charge him --- and McCarthy.
Thank you for this Daniel. I had to look up "mandamus" to be sure about the meaning, you are so right here. It is nothing short of an outrage what is happening in our Congress with 157 (I think that's it) insurrectionist legislators running our country! This is a slow moving coup to the next election. I WANT TO MOVE THE HELL OUT OF HERE!
Do you mean leave the U.S. when you say, "I WANT TO MOVE THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"? If so, please don't leave because if many of us leave, then "they" win! We have to stay and fight back, especially with our votes, to remove these crazies from Congress as well as those at local and state levels. We can't give up now. It will be a slow-moving fight, but the November election showed it's possible to claw our way back to sanity and Constitutional rule.
And we WILL DO THIS,it's our nation.
But I'm staying to fight ! I won't be driven out.
I want THEM to move the he'll out of here.
Daniel, I would like to see the folks you named charged, but with essentially no ethics committee in the House, I just don't see anything being done to stop their treasonous behavior.
Victims of January 6 insurrectionists who are depicted in the materials sent by McCarthy have standing......
I think the January 6 Committee was too deferential to fellow House members.
the committee almost broke up over that issue; most wanted to pursue the legislators who were involved. Liz Cheney forbid it; she wanted only trump's head. Why? Because she'll need some of those republicans when she regains control of the R party. That is her ultimate goal.
Truth.
14th amendment...
Thank you Daniel for this valuable counsel. How and who issues the petition for mandamus? Can we do it? If there is a cost involved, can we raise the money for it?
Agree! Sooner rather than later!!!
I don't know what a petition of Mandamus is, but I like it! Scott Perry is a very bad one. I'm horrified for my state! You know that the J6 Committee wanted to go after those legislators, but Liz Cheney forbid it, right ? Many people who were assisting the committee actually quit in anger.
Media controlled by far right
George, maybe the approach we need to take is to get the FCC involved and get them to break up the media conglomerates and set in place some regulations for what happens to talking heads who spew lies that actually harm the people of this nation. No corporation should be able to own stations all over the country and the owners of the media should be held accountable for the bad behavior of their entity. After all, corporations are declared persons by our "Supreme" Court. The owners, then are the ones that should be tried and imprisoned for promoting treason.
That FCC idea is interesting!
The Media ...at the very least the Main Stream Media ... has completely failed to do its job. It’s probably sufficiently intelligent and educated to know that it’s lying and/or at the very least - refusing to tell the truth. But the ad revenues are soaring and the Devil’s bargain is holding for now.
But the MSM should perhaps remember what happens to those who make a bargain with the Devil? To the best of my knowledge, and supported virtually 100% in both history and literature - IT DOESN’T END WELL for one of the parties. It’s the Devil who ALWAYS WINDS, except when the protagonist who opposes him is young, innocent, and Good. Call me a cynic, but I’m not seeing ANY of that on the Right Hand Side of the Aisle?
Me either, are there no republicans out there in the republican majority that is honest and true to the oaths of office? If there are why doesn’t the media cover them as well as the bogus caucus?
Not helpless, James, hopeless. It is their job to enforce the Constitution and all written law. Not to be concerned with how much donation money it will cost them
I'm having a toast to that right now.
Hear hear!
A problem is that the criminal justice system has been tweaked for decades to favor those who can afford to buy it with an army of highly paid lawyers.
Gloria-- I was a civil trial lawyer, not criminal. But the same thing is true on the civil side. I worked in the largest firms, in middle-sized firms, and on my own. What you allude to is one of the main reasons I got out of the practice after over 4 decades: No matter how good my prospective client's case was, if he/she was small and litigating against a large opponent, I was forced by my own sense of integrity to advise the prospective client that they probably could not win in court or in arbitration. The Rules of Procedure are designed to drag things out until the smaller party no longer has the wherewithal (financial and otherwise) to continue with the case; the arbitration system is designed to incentivize arbitrators to go with the big guy because they represent future business (because they litigate regularly) whereas the smaller party is not likely to come back; judges, who come primarily from prosecutors' offices or the very large law firms, are biased in far too many cases and, as a practical matter, there is no way to sanction or remove such judges; etc. etc. Hard to keep a business going when you are telling prospective clients to not use you.
As a lawyer for near half a century, I’m loving this comment string. Justice still has a chance , but it is getting harder.
Things are getting worse-not better because corporations are taking over the judiciary. Federal district judges, for instance, know that if they significantly harm corporate interests, they can say good bye to any advancement to a higher court.
State courts are increasing feeling the influence of lawmakers, who are basically stooges for corporate interests. In my own state of Montana, for instance, there are several bills moving through a corporate controlled legislature to undermine the independence of our judiciary, and in every election cycle, the same forces expend millions of dollars on the judicial campaigns of lawyers and judges they know will vote in favor of their interests. It is just a matter of time until they gain complete control, as they have in many sister states.
On an anecdotal level, I’ve been fighting a lonely battle for s group of Montanans for nearly a decade and a half. The audacious sharp practices of the corporate lawyers are on full display and have been largely successful. I’m still fighting (without pay). It ain’t pretty but what are you going to do?
It's a really sad state of affairs but I know what you mean. With no judiciary and a voting public willing to believe any pablum fed to them, we stand a strong chance of losing out democracy to a dictatorship without a shot being fired in our defense - and, NO, I'm not advocating for civil war. I'm fighting a battle in California on behalf of my self and the other residents of an Independent Senior Living residential Facility. I can't even find an attorney or government agency to listen, let alone help us. We've fallen through a very wide crack, we're not wealthy, we're able to feed ourselves (but most of the others can't cook) we can take our own medicine and dress ourselves so we don't qualify with assisted living, or skilled nursing facilities either. I can't imagine how bad it must be for licensed attorneys fighting a battle they know they can't win.
Erik and Fay -- I acknowledge the two of you for continuing to fight. I fought for a long time (despite my phone being bugged, my children being stalked, angry ranchers shooting at my clients), but even though I had led a very healthy life, my body started collapsing (heart attacks, heart failure, cancer, etc.), and it was time to get out. As a result, I'm still alive (though I was told I wouldn't be), and even though I now make a tiny fraction of what I made as a practicing lawyer, I am much happier and my wife of 38 years is still with me. Food for thought.
Good for you,. Steve. Although I dearly love the law, especially Constitutional law, after passing the LSAT and being accepted at Law School, I backed out, because I was making more money as a teacher than I would after four years of law school, at considerable expense, starting out as a Constitutional lawyer. After teaching I worked in Social Services for several years, then as consulting analyst and subject matter expert traveling the east coast and mid west. Instead of being smart like you, Steve I didn't retire until I was 88 - had a great time though (:-)
Thanks Steve. Judges can be impeached. How do we start an impeachment process? Does it have to begin with the Legislature? We do have a Constitution. We just need to enforce it. Too many of us, including me, have signed arbitration agreements thinking, Oh, I'll never have need to use it. Then when we do get there, we realize we've lost before we even started.
The financialization of everything is a characteristic of fascism, not?
That must be changed. It's a symptom of what's wrong with this corporatocracy. Corruption has overwhelmed our nation. Equal rights & opportunity are now nothing more than a long forgotten dream.
Steve, I too, was a trial lawyer but in FL. I dealt with the inequalities by drinking. I quit drinking in 1985 and soon thereafter, I quit the law. A friend of mine worked for Holland and Knight, one of the biggest law firms in the country back then. He told me that their policy was to spend as much as it took to fight back, regardless of the validity of the claim. OR, as the saying goes: "Money Talks."
In one of my first experiences as a young lawyer at a big firm, the firm took on a big case (for Motorola or Teledyne, I think), and I was called into the initial meeting with 20 other lawyers and paralegals. During the next 2 hours, there was zero discussion of the law or the facts because apparently the top dogs knew our client was in the wrong. So instead the entire discussion was about non-legal things the firm could do to break the backs (financially, emotionally, spiritually) of the plaintiffs and their lawyers. Birthday dates, anniversaries, whether counsel were Jewish (screw up Hanukkah) or not (Christmas), what commuting routes the lawyers took, what schools their children went to, where the families vacationed, who was in their extended families, etc. I could only imagine how that information would be used.
That was the first indication I had that this new world was alien to me and that the rules here were very different from those I had been taught, in law school and elsewhere.
But the breaking point for me came many years later, as a small firm and solo lawyer, when I experienced many small clients going after big guys who could never even get the chance to win or lose since they had had to quit after being ground down by those big firm tactics, overwhelming litigation money on the other side, drawn out use of the rules of procedure, and judges who looked the other way from abuses of the system. Those clients often took their frustration out on me because there was no one else in the system to direct it to.
There are many fine, high integrity, and compassionate lawyers out there. But it is the big names that have built the system and run it . . . they are the ones who determine the rules of procedure; they are the ones playing golf with the judges; and they are the ones who have changed the system from one of truth and justice to one of money and power.
Erik, Steve, Bob Miller. I agree that the system is stacked and is entirely too costly.
But the little guy has a chance because of contingency fees and fee shifting statutes.
I am in no position to lecture anybody, but my ol' pappy was literally a country lawyer and taught us "alchemy" -- we learned to turn "shit" into money. In order to prevail we had to be "better" than the opposition.
Companies like railroads are "target" defendants. They get sued a lot and know that they have exposure for more if cases against them become precedent. I'm sure a general practitioner from East Palestine has a small chance to figure out the possibilities. But I heard stuff l where the companies were mostly defended by big law DC or NY law firms nationally, yet some sole practitioners were able to navigate.
I couldn't possibly agree more, and find it difficult to believe that holding these people accountable seems to be so impossible.
Adele, It should not be so difficult, but as long as rich corporations can determine what goes on air, we will not be able to do much to stop this. They keep accumulating money they can use to warp our media and buy candidates. That really must stop, but how do we do it?
Not sure about liddle McCarthy, but Cucker is ABSOLUTELY guilty of Treason and I think his trial would be a short one.
Daniel H Laemmerhirt : Tucker Carlson has shows in Russia. He works for Putin. This is an outrage. He misinforms and stirs up trouble: violence and insurrection! He is an enemy of America and Democracy.
Laurie, you are right about Carlson. He is for himself and his puppet master who also is fond of Putin and any other dictator. Murdoch likes the idea of being able to make everyone bow to his will as the dictators like Putin, Xi, and Orban do. He hints that he just HAD to lie to keep his job, but in reality, he reveled in it, proving what a "good" actor he is. Those who watch his program really don't listen to him because if they did, they would hear the lying and just the way he says things with a sneer, showing just how much contempt he has for his followers. It's remarkable, but really disturbing!
Need a border collie for those sheep.
You say "actor," while I say "dictatortot."
Yeah, Chuck ; I guess a propaganda puppet of Putin's is just fine and dandy with you huh? I think most users/ members of this forum are not in sync with Nazis and Seditionists. We don't much like lies, crime and misinformation either, nor the violence and threats that go with it.
Chuck, what nonsense. Carlson et al whine to their followers and are pretty good at shaping their followers more than singing the tune their followers like. They work very hard to create the "liking" the followers have. If they crafted the truth as well as they craft their lies, their followers would appreciate that too. And, the nonsense of "everyone does it" just does not hold up here. It works for the Carlson and Fox Not Nearly News handlers, but it simply isn't true, no matter how much you want it to be.
Chuck Campbell ; Because you have your head up your a$$! Hope the pay is worth it. I'm done texting answers to you. Not worth it.
And your answer is everyone lies,? Apparently not to the tune of $B lawsuits? Some test you have there.
Chuck Campbell what kind of an agenda do you propose? And what good is the other, MAGA, Russian side? We don't like their brand. Because it sucks our blood. They exploit workers, people like Putin. They take away freedoms. Your ideas are trash talk, and you don't really care. Go disrupt somewhere else. Friends of Putin are FOPs .
One cannot edit posts? I thought you could! Anyway, I forgot to add "[sic]" for my playful spelling changes. Farron Cousins accidentally called Tucker "Cucker" a few months back and I thought it was appropriate.
Apparently you can edit if you use the browser but not the app. I've never used the app and chrome is my browser so mostly I've been able to edit. But not always. Still trying to figure that last bit out.
I'm sitting in the front row w/ popcorn!!!
Close to “Nailed It.” The pushback against the Right Wing Whack Jobs & Treasonous Liars needs to be Overwhelmingly LOUD, UNITED & URGENT. Fox has been given a free pass and been allowed to LIE consistently when many of its pundits KNEW that they were lying, but that lying was WHO Fox IS, and lying was what brought in the advertising, paid their salaries, and supported their celebrity status.
Tucker Carlson is not an Intellectual Giant, but neither is he a Total Idiot. He knows EXACTLY what he’s doing, and he knows EXACTLY how dangerous it is to the future of any viable Democracy in this country. HE DOESN’T CARE. His celebrity status and ability to generate advertising dollars that translate into his exorbitant salary are all that matter. In many ways he’s worse than some of the Right Wing Whack Jobs chanting about their freedoms while doing their part to destroy the very government that bestows and protects those freedoms. Under many dictators throughout history whom many of us can name - one bad decision on what to say publicly would have been a death sentence - no trial, no jury, just a couple of guys with automatic weapons. Tucker is either stupid enough, malicious enough, and/or feckless enough to try to destroy the very environment that has brought him the fame and fortune in which he so clearly revels. He the Worst of the Worst - intelligent enough to know what he’s doing, and evil enough to do it anyways.
Susan, I am concerned that the whining and lying that Carlson et al are doing bring in advertisers. Maybe we need to start asking why those advertisers are OK with supporting lying and even treasonous talk. Maybe we need to start looking that those corporations and what they are doing on their own to undermine our democracy. They may be the very ones who are not paying their fair share of taxes, lobbying to stop important regulation of railroads and who fight unions, etc. It would be worth checking them out. What do you think?
Brilliant!
Suppose you're right, Ruth? [and I'm sure you are] Then what? What's the remedy against those corporations?
Denise Donaldson ; Don't buy their products. See whose campaigns they support.
The first part is much easier said than done. As has been pointed out on this forum, a handful of corporations now own a huge percentage of retail brands. For instance, Nestlé owns Purina, Alpo, Perrier, Stouffer's, Haagen-Dazs, Carnation, DiGiorno, and a whole roster of other products. You'd have to go through every item.on your shopping list, track down its parent company, and make sure it isn't a "bad" corporation. And what if your usual/local stores don't stock items that aren't from bad companies?
It's one thing to boycott your local pizzeria because the owner puts a t***p sign out front, but on a national scale....pretty impractical, if not impossible.
Denise Donaldson: Here's a snap shot meme about who owns which food corporations (and a link lower in the article about beauty companies. https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-control-everything-we-buy-2017-8
Denise Donaldson ; You have a good point that I have been aware of, and frustrated about for years . I joined the local co-op. They support local farmers and have alternatives to Nestle. It may not be perfect, but I think it is much better than going to the big box stores for basic food items. It isn't always practical to make things from scratch ; but there are some good, honest brands.
I think he is supported by global biz that would like less regs, taxes and the ability to seal themselves on the winners take all side. He is all for that and willing to be an eager beaver.
We need to pull the plug and reinvest in our country; RX now made in China is a national security risk as is many other risks.
Well said, I agree with you.
Worse than yelling “Fire” in a crowded venue.
Ramona, you are so right, but alas, Biden appointed an ineffectual Attorney General who just can't seem to get anyone even indicted who is at the top of the January 6th food chain. I get it that he claims to be concerned about looking political, but the whole coup attempt is political from beginning to end. A political party, Republican, tried to keep its ignorant evil Trump as president when he clearly lost and by over 7 million votes. The American people clearly didn't want him to remain in office. Most Americans didn't want him the first time, but our electoral college favors white uninformed voters. If Garland does not act say by the middle of April, I think nothing will actually happen to hold the real traitors accountable. That is what I expect because all the political work-arounds with special counsels is just a distraction to help all of us get more and more frustrated with the nothing being done to stop the insanity and the 2024 election drawing nearer. I get it that Trump and Kump are really good at covering things up, but our Department of Justice is supposed to be really good at uncovering it, aren't they?
Not just as Speaker, he needs to be jailed and lose his place a a Representative in Congress. As a long time Californian I am ashamed of him and the voters who put him here.
Ramona every one of your words are correct. Why are these people against democracy? We have so many freedoms.
Given the serious breaches that Fox/Murdoch continually engage ion, I don't understand why this agency has no regulatory authority here https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/what-we-do
I think they do have regulatory authority. There was a "Fairness Act" which has either been rescinded or ignored. It seems the FCC sees their only duty as administering licensing and collecting fees. From what I read on line they are fully funded by the fees. Maybe they don't want to endanger their incomes.
Not a 'coup attempt'. Just protected political 'speech' by an FBI infiltrated group of aged out Boomers. I'm an independent, veteran, and attorney, and there isn't much more inexplicable in American politics today than allegedly intelligent Americans believing that 1/6 was a serious attempt at insurrection, but it remains a narrative that a substantial minority of Americans still believe. Power of the legacy media I suppose.
Tim, it’s too bad you can’t ask those cops that died if it was a “serious attempt.”
OMG Tim, and you're a veteran and a lawyer? What are you thinking? Just a little free speech or whatever you have been telling yourself January 6th was! It is sad that people who have served this nation can't see what is going on. I know men are privileged to think all kinds of strange things but free speech, no matter how one interprets it is not what happened January 6th. trump orchestrated his plan to stay in power while his handlers did the dirty work, keeping him mostly above the fray. Just truly sad you have chosen to be blinded by ult-right propaganda and just plain misinformation.
Oh, my God! You are so steeped in all the conspiracy theories. You live in a fantasy world that has nothing to do with reality. Your values have turned upside down!
A Veteran and you call an attack on our Capitol Free Speech? What Constitution did you swear to uphold? I swore to uphold to protect the United States of America and we were attacked by a group of Seditionists on that day. You are a disgrace to the uniform that you wore. Officers died that day! Shame on you! January 6 Trump tried to overturn a legitimate election and riled up his base to take Control of the Capitol. They wantedd to hang Pence and Pelosi. That's not free speech. You're a fool.
I suppose you call yourself a Patriot. Some American you are. I'm glad I didn't have to serve with dishonorable men like you. You're a disgrace to the uniform.
If you really feel that way why the hell don't you move to to another country then if you think there's something better.
Institutions that were in charge of security were run by recent Trump appointees placed there for the purpose of making sure there wasn't enough security around the Capitol that day. Officials ignored pleas for more security.
And you are doing your best to more than make up any service for this country you might have given by promulgating all these lies & conspiracy theories & sowing discord.
Anybody with the ability to observe, properly process the information they receive, & come to a rational conclusion could see long before the 2020 election that Trump was planning to retain power regardless of election results, & everything he did was in preparation to stay in power, by violent means if he couldn't do it legally & peacefully. I predicted this in 2018.
You choose to blindly accept wild baseless conspiracy theories instead of your own eyes. I can't help you if you refuse to think & reason.
Hurrah! I couldn't agree more. McCarthy is a castrated figurehead with Greene and blathering idiots running him as his puppet masters.
I agree.
Well in my opinion this started with Newt Gingrich making Congress a casino & Reagan wS a big business creation. The DNC continues to struggle not wanting to threaten the biz donor base but also therefore losing the for the people position. Your complaint makes one side totally responsible and that is a reach w/ 24/7 fox messages.
I think it started by giving Newt a platform for lying, republicans fell in line with his narcissism and newly found notoriety.
Ohio Train Derailment
Mike Dewine, the governor of Ohio, needs to call out Trump for the lies he told during his visit on 2/22/23 to the people of East Palestine. If the governor has any decency he should make it public that Trump has been disingenuous.
DeWine may be a decent man but he is spineless in the face of his own party. As a Republican during the height of the Covid outbreak he showed this in not fully backing his own chosen head of the Ohio Department of Health, Amy Acton. He lifted Covid restrictions too soon against her recommendations and did little to publicly support her when she was threatened by Covid deniers.
What residents of East Palestine and neighboring communities need are good trial lawyers to take on Norfolk and Southern and maybe local officials.
The residents of East Palestine overwhelmingly supported Trump. Trump got rid of the rule regarding breaks on trains - the rule that prevented fires. So, in reality, they did this to themselves. Could NS have spent the money to make the brakes safer? In a perfect world, yes. But corporate greed is so totally out of control, corporations have to be forced to do the right thing. The Right Wing MAGAts (pronounced maggots), want to 'burn it all down'. But they are too uninformed to understand what that means. I would like to say let what happens happen, except I don't want to live in the ruins they are working for. But it would serve them right. I am sick to death of their anti-everything.
Hate the sin but love the sinner? It's ironic that most MAGAts have been voting against their own economic and health interests. Maybe this will bring them an epiphany, a moment of rapture with reality.
IMHO this can be an object lesson for MAGAts.
BTW, my home town is about 20 miles from East Palestine. My experience is that they may need trial lawyers to survive. This stuff may be latent. As I said yesterday, the region has a high rate of respiratory diseases, may be "hot" for cancer and other diseases.
Erin Brokovich already there. It'll be a circus.
Sell it somewhere else-I'm sure your lies will work on FUX.
Marian Williamson? Lol.
Sarah, I know there should be real consequences for voting for fools who care nothing for the people, but in reality, Republicans and their corporate sponsors have worked very hard to keep their followers ignorant and willing to cling to anything that claims Trump was a good leader. They honestly often do not know better because they have constructed a bubble for themselves and only check in with "news" reports that make them feel comfortable and "loved." They have picked the wrong party to attend, but they are so far gone, they will ignore their own perceptions and go along with Carlson and his ilk while blaming Democrats for their suffering. It has been well-orchestrated by rich corporate owners who have been given tax breaks that have allowed their money to balloon and their dysinformation to spread like a virus, infecting scared white working-class folks who choose to have no clue.
Thank you for the history of the area. Considering Ohio is basically a GOP state -
I am not surprised.
Ohio is more of a purple state now, but it used to be blue. The overwhelming Dem majority in the northern part of the state is outweighed by the combined populations of Columbus and Cincinnati, which vote GOP. Here in Cleveland, Republican candidates rarely ever stand a ghost of a chance of being elected, and we're proud of Senator Sherrod Brown, but we watch in sadness as the biggest part of the state goes red.
"Norfolk Southern’s flawed response released more than twice the toxics released in the initial derailment, creating a million-pound chemical burn pit that would burn and discharge thick toxic smoke for days causing widespread anxiety, panic, and fear of dire health consequences."
https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/special-reports/train-derailment/more-class-action-lawsuits-norfolk-southern-east-palestine-train-derailment/95-55d6db2d-6809-4383-93bb-d000ed8e50c1
and those would be “predictable health consequences.” The science is pretty clear on the dangers of exactly what this derailment spewed into the land, water and air. East Palestine will be “unsafe in which to live” for at least 5 years ... and maybe more like a decade. The “range” will depend somewhat on the initial response, but I suspect that most of the damage has already been done, and now is essentially irreversible?
Another Love Canal. Suspect the future will produce a huge rise in cancer cases, miscarriages, and deformed babies.
CherylP, you are right about the potential health hazards in the future in Palestine OH and the area around. But, Most people won't care because these are not rich powerful people, so, it is not clear how much help the community will get, particularly if a Republican administration takes over in 2025.
Needs to play out. Hopefully not.....
Joanne, alas, DeWine, just another Republican jerk who looks like a caring human being, but will sacrifice everything for power and money. He did not call for federal help right after the derailment a couple of weeks ago and allowed people to claim the federal officials weren't actually on the scene from nearly the beginning to try to help. Yep, a jerk!
You're so right, Joanne. DeWine ended up being a total coward during the pandemic. I don't give him credit for being a decent person in the first place, but absolutely, he's utterly spineless in the face of his party's mandates. Even if those mandates hurt his constituents.
First Energy owns him.
Fox Corporation exploited that (preventable) tragedy as well. They sought to stoke racial resentment for profit by falsely accusing the Biden administration of ignoring the residents of East Palestine because they are white.
When the reality is Trump administration m/R's passed railroad deregulation. Biden and Sen D's should submit a bill addressing this and adding sensible needed regulation reforms (better brakes) TODAY. Call the fake R bluff.
With a Governor who refuses to ask for a Federal Disaster Declaration, little hope for doing the right thing. As far as I can garner from what I can put together from the news, no one should be living in that location anymore and the water needs to be totally cleaned up. That town should be a Superfund Site paid for by the RR. CEO of Norfolk Southern - jail.
The governor finally accepted federal funds, and the EPA ordered the offending corporation to pay for all the damages done. The water, except for possibly ground water, has flushed through and diluted the toxins, but the soil is a whole other matter. Large amounts need to be removed, and it will become someone else's problem- somewhere that doesn't believe that pollution is harmful and will take money for holding the toxins. As a former metallurgist who before we got "offshored," analyzed wheels and track sections to determine mode of failure for info in lawsuits, the information on overheating prior to the catastrophe hints that the company may be in for more.
"...the company may be in for more."
Sure hope you're right about that, Trisha!
Just today it came out that the water testing in the area of the event was incomplete, that testing did not include all of the toxic chemicals involved. Norfolk Southern arranged for the testing by a contractor.
and the CEO doesn't know where the contaminated soil is being disposed of
Yeah, that's it! THAT'S the ticket!
A contractor hired by Norfolk Southern??? Gee, I'd surely believe any results from THAT source. /s
Oh I could not agree more but after the the last fifty years curtailing the railroads as well as other mega huge corporations has become a joke to the right wing congress .
EXACTLY!
Oh Keith, you are so right about the OH governor calling out Trump for his lying, but he will not do that. He knows Trump has supporters in OH and he will lose if he says any kind of truth about Baby Donnie. I am learning it is the way of Republicans. They just can't manage the truth while they claim to be so patriotic and so caring about the American people whom they resent and only use for their own purposes of gaining power and money.
DeWine has no decency; he is so far up Right Wing GOPs! He’s totally aligned with them and dare not disrespect T. The state of Ohio has turned deep red thanks to gerrymandering and in flow of dark money 😡
SOME of Ohio is deep red, as I mentioned above. The red prevails, but there's a big section of the state that's solidly blue.
And yes, gerrymandering is largely the culprit for the red stain.
Susanne and Denise
The rot in the Ohio statehouse runs deep. During DeWine's first term, the head of the House, Householder, was in an illegal deal with First Energy (our electric company.) Huge kickback scheme as I understand it in return for less regulation. Householder is being prosecuted.
It's never been clear if, or how deep, DeWine was involved. I can't believe he knew nothing about it. He did return the money First Energy contributed to his campaign and managed to be re-elected to a second term.
Yep. Householder scored millions, the scum. And the nuclear power plant in Toledo that First Energy was trying to keep open by bribing him had been shuttered on more than one occasion as being unsafe. Realistically, it has reached the end of its life, and, without untold millions in repairs, will never be safe again. But First Energy made a good buy, and the powers that be in Ohio have still not shut down the plant.
And yes, I personally believe DeWine was in on it, neck deep.
By disingenuous do you mean down right lying to the American people or did you think by barely covering the depth of his lies!
Yes
If Professor Reich didn't stitch it all together neatly with that second to last paragraph, no one ever will:
"The McCarthy-Trump-Fox-complex is internally consistent — connecting authoritarianism, rightwing Republican hackery, GOP political fundraising, Trump-boosting ratings outrage, and greed. It’s a vicious cycle designed to sow anger and distrust while advancing the power and wealth of McCarthy, Greene, Trump, Carlson, and Fox News."
This should go up on billboards all over the country. These lowlife idiots are destroying this nation!
This is exactly why we need indictments, convictions and significant jail terms. Without consequences they have no incentive to stop.
It seems like we are back in the Wild West, anything goes and you get away with it. With no consequences to their actions, these lowlifes will continue on their merry way like they have been doing. Enough already!! It’s totally absurd what’s going on in this country!
This continuing Fascist coup was predictable years ago when SCOTUS shifted the balance of power away from the People and to the super rich and powerful, and their corporations, with rulings such as Citizens United. HJR48 will shift the power balance back towards We the People, and democracy. But our Constitution will not amend itself. Help out at movetoamend.org and grow the democracy movement now, before it’s too late!
I am in sympathy with your argument, but I worry that those same super rich individuals and corporations will pre-empt the process of amendment. It's more vulnerable than we might suppose.
No worries. Let’s keep pushing forward. Please check out AB83 at moneyoutvotersin.org We can win this, and it’s a stepping stone to kicking corporations out of our politics and government with HJR54 (Jayapal)!
There is no 2d coup attempt, for the simple reason that the first coup never ended. Trump and the MAGA Party -- there is no GOP any longer -- are now playing out the second act of the coup, leading to 2024/the third act. Only on Jan 20, 2025, will we know how this story ends.
Unfortunately your correct! If not too late already. Read the article by Steve Schmidt, he wrote about Jimmy Carter. Maybe he was the last president that talked the talk, and walked the walk! Sad that the office fell victim to the likes of the Reagans, Bushes and the clown!
How is it even legal for McCarthy to turn the tapes over to anyone? It seems it would be a matter of national security and be locked down. If someone like TC can have them whats to stop any other nutter that requested them to get them? A precedence has been set. Will he sell them to Putin? Just when you think things couldn’t possibly get worse...
I,too, am wondering how it is that these tapes can be made available to one person (and his team of “experts”) given the significance of the tapes as an historical record and as a complete look into the House where security of its members is now an exposed map to open the possibility of further attempts to intimidate or actually harm members of the Congress. Is there no way to stop this handing over of materials to a “nut?”
Seems it's been done, but I do think McCarthy should be forced to turn those tapes over to other broadcasters. They are not his to cherry pick.
MCCARTHY SHOULD BE SUBPOENAED TO EITHER TURN SAME TAPES OVER TO ALL THE BROADCASTERS OR :
CARLSON TO SURRENDER THE TAPE HE WAS GIVEN
This is what happens when the inmates run the asylum.
They are trying to turn the whole world into a madhouse.
It seems their madhouse was pretty well established, all they have to do is give it a little kick to finish the job!
Remember, though, that all of this is built on the MAGA voter base. The 15 rounds of voting for Speaker showed us just how weak McCarthy and the Republican party are, and how they have to pander to the crazies. What the Dominion court case ultimately revealed by releasing the Fox News emails is that those same belligerently ignorant, conspiracy-addled voters call the tunes the Fox News piper plays. The Republican party and Fox have spent decades cultivating the deplorables, and now they are captive to them. Fox News is deathly afraid of being abandoned by its crazy viewers. The Republican leadership is deathly afraid of Trump and his deplorable mob. The deplorables demand to be fed all manner of stupid lies, and will turn to whichever politicians and media outlets that meet their demands.
Such a good comment!
Wow! You really laid out the truth right there!
Hopefully Jack Smith and DOJ take the same point of view as your article expoused that the radical insurrectionists are still in an ongoing struggle to further Muddy the waters 💧 of their J6 complicity by further engaging in seditious activities with the help of their favorite propaganda network and spokesman. As long as we have writers like you and Heather and others holding the insurrectionists feet to the fire 🔥, America 🇺🇸 has a better chance of knowing how the GOP is trying to fake it til they make it! All of America 🇺🇸 just have to make sure they don't, especially in 2024.
How many McCarthy's does the American history need?!
As determined to make a bad name for himself as the former.
Well, I liked Eugene McCarthy.
Good point, so did I
Well said 😄
We need a progressive McCarthy to run against KKKevin.
It's been noted, I think on MSNBC, that the tapes will show where surveillance cameras are located. This will make it easier for seditionists to invade the Capitol in the future.
Sigh. Of course.
That's the plan! McCarthy knows full well what he's doing.
Europe was elated by the president's speeches and appearence in Kiev and Poland. But now I feel ashamed by this history: lousy politics of village level to bring a moron like Trump to a new candidacy for president. It lowers the perceived level of your politics very much. I used to think that the U.S. must elect the president they like, whether a fragile old democrat, or a narcissist moron.
But the problem in the word has grown. We need a strong America. A second term of Trump would be a disaster for the world and a break up for the U.S.
Our Congress looks more and more like the WWE ! What a disgrace
All of Congress? This plays into the oligarich’s project of discrediting democracy. It’s the Republicans in Congress.
Do both sides do it? I'm not a fan of framing accusations like this.
No, both sides do not.
It’s not a “second” coup. It is the same coup - slow-rolling but never stopping, like a mudslide gaining speed as it moves down the hill. The only way to divert it is to shut down the right wing media and that won’t happen.
Remember Leiningen Versus the Ants? Is that still required reading in high school? The short story by Carl Stephenson? If we survive these vicious, amoral and immoral, poisonous, fascist, right-wing red ants we will be eaten to the bone after having fallen through a ring of fire.
Most likely those books are banned in Florida, & maybe Texas & Missouri, too.
Slight correction; Carlson's goal is ONLY to make lot of money for himself; I doubt he cares how. He'd do the same for Stalin or Hitler if it made him money.
Yes, but I really don't see much difference among Hitler, Stalin, Putin or Trump.
Nor do I.
His life story shows otherwise. Abandoned by his mother. He's the ideologue his daddy created.
How does that prove that his only goal isn't money?
Liberals are the totems for his mother.
Freud: Totem and Taboo.